Page 10 — Thursday, February 8, 2024 — The Hastings Banner
Young back-court helps DK hold on at Climax-Scotts
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The better the start, the better the finish for
the Panthers lately.
The Delton Kellogg varsity boys’ basket-
ball team took a 55-49 win at Climax-Scotts
High School Monday evening for its seventh
victory of the season.
Delton Kellogg got out to a 17-9 lead. It
wasn’t a lead they held for too long, but Pan-
ther head coach Jim Hogoboom was happy to
finally see his guys have a good first quarter.
Climax-Scotts rallied to tie things up at
27-27 by the half.
Freshman Grady Matteson came off the
bench to spark Delton Kellogg early in the
third quarter. He hit a three-pointer, put on
some solid defensive pressure and coach
Hogoboom said he also had a nice pass to get
out of a Climax-Scotts’ trap during his time
on the floor.
The Panthers went on a 17-5 run in that
third quarter.
“From there I think we had some really
good moments with taking care of the ball
against their pressure and really scrapping on
the defensive end,” Hogoboom said.
With blake Lillibridge going down with an
injury in the first half that made it three start-
ers out for the Panthers, and coach Hobo-
goom was pleased with how his team’s three
sophomore guards handled chaos down thestretch. That back-court trio includes two-
year varsity starter Tyler Howland, Keegan
Hill and recent varsity call-up Gabe Ramsey.
Howland and senior Chad Stopher had 11
points each and despite a first half filled with
foul trouble Hugo Martino finished with 13
points for DK.
Victor Gonzalez hit a pair of big threes for
Delton Kellogg and took advantage of defen-
sive adjustments that assistant coach Jason
Howland made at the half to adjust position-
ing and draw some charges. Coach Hogo-
boom said Stopher and Gonzalez both took
advantage of those adjustments to get offen-
sive fouls on the Climax-Scotts Panthers.
Miles Shannon led Climax-Scotts with 17
points and Billy Felton had 11.
While the Delton Kellogg guys couldn’t
keep up Tuesday in another non-conference
ballgame, coach Hogoboom was pleased with
the effort. Delton Kellogg kept within 21-
with Watervliet early on, but Watervliet even-
tually pulled away for a 78-48 win at DKHS.
Martino had 16 points, Stopher 14 and
Howland 11 in the loss.
“Not very often you lose by 30 and walk
away with a bunch of positives,” coach Hog-
oboom said. “[Watervliet] played great –
made seven threes in first half, and nine for
the game and it felt like they didn’t miss. For
the second night in a row we had a better start
than we have been with 17 points but they
didn’t miss.”
Sophomore Jacob Pleyer had 25 points to
lead Watervliet and senior Wyatt Epple had
22 points.
“That’s a pretty dynamic duo they have
and they can score in a variety of ways,”
Hogoboom said. “In spite of that, we closed
the gap a bit in the third and trailed by nine
with a little over six minutes to go in the third- that very quickly turned to 25 points in a
matter of four minutes.
“I am proud of my guys. We are still trying
to navigate things with the loss of three start-
ers so at times tonight we had a frosh and
three sophomores on the court. Lots of growth
tonight in may ways and it will be nice to
finally have a couple days of practice after
five games with one day in the middle to
work on things.”
Delton Kellogg also faced Southwestern
Athletic Conference Central Division foe
Black River in Holland last Friday, falling to
the River Rats 64-52.
Josh Vandermeer had 24 points and Josiah
Thomas 20 in the win for Black River, which
drops DK to 2-4 in the conference so far this
season.
Martino had 14 points and Howland 13 for
Delton Kellogg.
“I can’t fault the effort,” Hogoboom said.
“Black River plays very hard, fed off their
homecoming crowd and jumped on us 17-6 at
the end of the first quarter. I felt like we sort
weathered the storm the rest of the way and
actually had it to an eight-point game with
four minutes left and momentum had turned
in our favor. Black River had a really nice
response and then a late three at the buzzer
increased the gap and the crowd stormed the
floor.
“It was one of the most physical games
I’ve seen in quite some time. Thought we
adjusted in the second half to the way the
game was being called. We had so many good
shots that just would not fall – inside the paint
and open threes that rattled in and out. We are
still trying to adjust to playing without Grant
McArthur and Torren Mapes. Hoping to get
them back before the end of the year. I Feel
like we took a step forward in that regard.”
Delton Kellogg returns to conference play
Friday at Gobles and then will face former
conference foe Kalamazoo Christian Tuesday
on the road.NOTICE TO BIDDERS
BARRY COUNTY ROAD COMMISSION
Sealed proposals will be received at the office of the Barry County
Road Commission, 1725 West M-43 Highway, P.O. Box 158,
Hastings, MI 49058, until 11:00 A.M. February 14, 2024 for the
following items.Specifications and additional information may be obtained at the
Road Commission Office at the above address or at our web site at
http://www.barrycrc.org.Crack Seal Blocks Culverts
Scraper Blades Bit Mix
Asphalt PavingThe Board reserves the right to reject any or all proposals or to waive
irregularities in the best interest of the Commission.BOARD OF COUNTY ROAD COMMISSIONERS
OF THE COUNTY OF BARRY
David D. Solmes Chairman
Frank M. Fiala Member
Jim James Member211819HHS/DK team has handful of
personal bests against Bulldogs
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
It was an outstanding start for the Hast-
ings/Delton Kellogg varsity boys’ swim-
ming and diving team in its dual with
Otsego at the Community Education and
Recreation Center in Hastings Tuesday.
The HHS/DK quartet of seniors Riley
Shults and Heath Hays, junior DJ Kuck
and sophomore Colton Baker beat out the
top Otsego team of freshmen Dillon
Campbell and Kory Koubaitary and
seniors Nico Hertz and Hunter Sunnerv-
ille to win the 200-yard medley relay by a
second. The HHS/DK team touched the
wall in 2 minutes 2.16 seconds with the
Bulldog foursome finishing the race in
2:03.17.
The HHS/DK team would get the first
place points in the 400-yard freestyle relay
at the end of the night too with the team ofBaker, Caleb Kramer, Kuck and Hays fin-
ishing that race in 4:26.91.
In between, the Bulldogs got the work
done they needed to score an 86-61 win
over their hosts.
The HHS/DK team also had Shults win
the 50-yard freestyle in 24.69 seconds.
Kuck got the first place points in the 100-
yard backstroke with a time of 1:05.70 and
Hays got the first place points in the 100-
yard breaststroke with a time of 1:13.12.
The HHS/DK team had a handful of
personal best times on the night including
in runner-up finishes by Gavin Bagley in
the 100-yard backstroke and Noble Gab-
aldon in the 100-yard breaststroke. Kuck
had a personal best time in a runner-up
finish in the 100-yard butterfly too.
The HHS/DK boys are scheduled to visit
Fremont this evening and then will be home
for a dual with Ionia Tuesday, Feb. 13.Delton Kellogg Panther Hugo Martino
(35) elevates in the paint over Watervliet
Panther Owen Epple (32) on his way to
the rim Tuesday at Delton Kellogg High
School. (Photo by Perry Hardin)Saxons take down Aviators for seasons’ third victory
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
Not all records are created equal.
The Hastings varsity girls’ basketball team
improved to 3-10 overall this season with a
56-10 win over visiting West Michigan Avia-
tion Academy Tuesday at Hastings High
School. The Saxons led 30-1 at the half, roll-
ing every girl on the roster on an off the court.
The WMAA girls are now 4-9 overall this
season after the defeat.
“The whole team did a nice job regardless
of who was on the floor,” Saxon head coach
Chase Youngs said. “Defensively, I thought
we played really well, all of them did.”
Junior forward Rachael Hewitt got the
Saxons off to a big start on the scoreboard
scoring 13 points in the first quarter. She had
18 in the ballgame. Youngs said the Aviators
didn’t have an answer for her in the paint, and
as the game went on he was happy to see her
showing off her skills distributing the basket-
ball too.
Aubree Fueri and Madilynn Peake came
off the bench to finish as the Saxons’ two and
three scorers for the evening. Fueri had seven
points and Peake finished with eight. KalliKoning hit a pair of threes to score six points.
Coach Youngs said it was a good way for
his girls to bounce back from their tough one-
point loss to Lakewood the previous week in
which the Vikings wiped out a five-point
Saxon lead in the closing seconds.
“We had a good week of practice,” Youngs
said. “I think they’re all in mentally. That’s
the big thing. We’re a group that is focusing
on learning how to win and playing for 32
minutes. They did a super job I thought.”
The Saxons face some good tests ahead.
Youngs is looking forward to measuring his
team’s progress as it makes a trip to face
Interstate-8 Athletic Conference foe HarperCreek Friday in Battle Creek. The Beavers
took a 12-point win over the Saxons at Hast-
ings High School back in December.
The Saxons head into that one with a 1-
Interstate-8 Athletic Conference record with
some work to do to catch up to everyone else
on the calendar. Coldwater has already played
nine conference games, and another four I-
teams have at least eight conference ball-
games in so far.
That makes for a busy stretch for Hastings.
The Saxons host Jackson Northwest Monday,
host Parma Western Tuesday and then go to
Jackson Northwest Friday, Feb. 16, in the
week ahead.Vikes make it nine in a row against Lions with victory
Brett Bremer
Sports Editor
The Lakewood varsity boys’ basketball
team stretched its winning streak against
Maple Valley to nine games with a sev-
en-point win on senior night at Lakewood
High School Tuesday.
The Vikings improved to 3-14 overall this
season with a 59-52 win over their former
Greater Lansing Activities Conference foes.
Logan Faulkner led Lakewood with 18
points. Landon Makley had 16 points and 12
rebounds. Troy Acker chipped in 12 points
and five rebounds.
Jakeb McDonald led the Lions with 18
points.The Vikings have four seniors on the roster
this winter, but Makley and Eli Jablonski
were the only two able to compete on senior
night as guards Blake Price and Garrett
Feighan remain sidelined with injuries – as
does junior guard Seth Willette.
Faulkner stepped up offensively scoring 11
points in the fourth quarter. He hit a pair of
threes in the period to fend off the Lions.
Makley had 14 points in the second half.
Maple Valley had a 18-17 lead at the half.
McDonald hit two threes in the second
quarter to help his team take the lead into
the break.
Teegen McDonald finished with 16 points
and Landon Wilkes had 13 points for theLions.
Maple Valley falls to 6-10 overall this sea-
son with the loss.
The Lions were slated to host Webberville
last night and will return to Big 8 Conference
play at Quincy Friday. The Lions were bested
by visiting Union City in Big 8 play last Fri-
day, 58-47.
Lakewood is playing host to Portland for
Winterfest this Friday in the Capital Area
Activities Conference White Division. The
Vikings are still chasing their first CAAC-
White win after an 0-8 start in conference.
Eaton Rapids scored a 47-39 win over the
Lakewood boys at Lakewood High School
last Friday.Saxon junior guard Bri Darling pushes the attack forward against West Michigan
Aviation Tuesday at Hastings High School. (Photo by Dan Goggins)Hastings senior Myah Vincent boxes
out an Aviator during the Saxons' win
over visiting West Michigan Aviation
Tuesday. (Photo by Dan Goggins)Delton’s Victor Gonzalez (52) drives into the lane past Watervliet’s Emmett
Williams(10) during the first half of the Tuesday night matchup at DKHS. (Photo by
Perry Hardin)